The Ministry of Bearing | Life Together: Discerning God in Spiritual Community Episode 6
Release Date: 05/29/2025
Nicholas and Sheila Rowe | Discerning God’s Invitations, Episode 3
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: Nicholas and Sheila Rowe “We’ve been instructed to act justly, to love mercifully and to walk humbly with the Lord. We want to take the risk of extending friendship across the lines that have historically separated us.” - Steve Macchia In Episode 03 of Season 36, Nicholas and Sheila Rowe offer their expertise in helping leaders process painful and traumatic experiences. In their book Healing Leadership Trauma, they lay out the emotional challenges of leadership and offer encouragement, prayer, and therapeutic tools to help leaders face their pain and...
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Dave Ripper | Discerning God’s Invitations, Episode 2
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Machia, Guest: Dave Ripper “In essence, the number one question we ought to be asking ourselves is 'How can I help you draw closer to God?'" - Steve Macchia In Episode 02 of Season 36, Steve Macchia hosts Dave Ripper, author of ‘Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus.’ In this conversation, Steve and Dave discuss Dallas Willard’s approach to reading the Bible and how we can move toward an experiential knowledge of God in our lives. Don’t miss this conversation as Dave shares personal stories about his relationship with the Willards, his heart behind...
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Suz Skinner | Discerning God's Invitations Episode 1
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner “Our prayer is that our eyes will be open, our ears will be attentive, and our hearts will receive the gift of the parables of Jesus.” - Steve Macchia Season 36 begins with a conversation between Steve Macchia and Suz Skinner. They share about their soon-to-release book, Praying the Parables of Jesus, an immersive encounter with the teachings of Jesus. Using the spiritual practices of Lectio and Visio Divina, readers can connect more deeply with the teachings of Jesus as they prayerfully discern God’s invitation in the...
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Gordon Macdonald – Part 2 | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 9
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gordon Macdonald This episode originally aired on May 5, 2022 as Episode 6 of Season 18 “Expect to reorganize your interior life every 7-10 years.” –Gordon MacDonald Gordon Macdonald joins Steve Macchia again for the conclusion of this 2-part conversation around his book “The View from Eighty.” Sharing the final 8 insights that make for success or failure in ministry, this REWIND episode will encourage you to live modestly, remain humble and devote time to building and reorganizing your interior life. Join the conversation...
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Gordon Macdonald – Part 1 | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 8
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gordon Macdonald This episode originally aired on April 28, 2022 as Episode 5 of Season 18 “Your number one priority in the Lord’s work is your family.” –Gordon MacDonald Gordon Macdonald joins Steve Macchia for the first of two conversations, drawing from his book “The View from Eighty.” A summary of 15 things that make for success or failure in ministry, Gordon and Steve explore the first 7 insights that come from 6 decades of ministry experience. This REWIND episode will encourage you to prioritize your most important...
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Eric Peterson | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 7
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Eric Peterson This episode originally aired on April 7, 2022 as Episode 2 of Season 18 “God is in everything, in all the details of life, and not just the pleasant ones.” – Eric Peterson In this REWIND episode, Eric Peterson joins Steve Macchia to reflect upon the luminous trail of spiritual discernment. Using the metaphors of mountain climbing and hiking, Eric and Steve explore how spiritual friendships are like headlamps that shine on the pathway of life. Tune into this rich conversation between Eric and Steve as they offer insights...
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Carolyn Arends | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 6
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Carolyn Arends This episode originally aired on October 13, 2022 as Episode 2 of Season 22 “The promise we always have is not no pain – it’s no wasted pain. There’s nothing that He can’t redeem.” – Carolyn Arends Carolyn Arends joins Steve Macchia to share watershed moments of her life story. Highlighting several major turning points and milestones, she offers personal anecdotes on how to cultivate a discerning life. In this REWIND episode, Carolyn shares how the formation required to cultivate a life of discernment is similar...
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Bill and Kristi Gaultiere | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 5
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: Bill and Kristi Gaultiere This episode originally aired on November 10, 2022 as Episode 6 of Season 22 “Ohh, I need to do some more inner journey work. This is an invitation.” –Kristi Gaultiere Bill and Kristi Gaultiere join Steve for a rich conversation about spiritual practices, discernment and soul care. In their book Journey of the Soul, they reflect on more than 70,000 hours of therapy and spiritual direction with people. In this REWIND episode of The Discerning Leader podcast, Bill and Kristi share six stages of spiritual...
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James Bryan Smith | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 4
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: James Bryan Smith This episode originally aired on November 3, 2022 as Episode 5 of Season 22 “Every need that my soul has, Jesus meets them – every single one of them.” – James Bryan Smith James Bryan Smith joins Steve for a conversation about how our view of God transforms our understanding and experience of spiritual disciplines. In this REWIND episode of The Discerning Leader podcast, James explores the harm of having a legalistic approach to spiritual practices and a toxic view of God. On the other hand, a right perspective of...
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Nathan Foster | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 3
The Discerning Leader Podcast
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Nathan Foster This episode originally aired on April 14, 2022 as Episode 3 of Season 18 “The Jesus way is clear: hang out with 12 nobodies and then give them the keys.” –Nathan Foster Nate Foster joins Steve Macchia for a conversation about our awareness of God and quiet reflection. In this REWIND episode, Nate invites us to consider how God often fills in the gaps after times of quiet discernment and prayer. Viewing spiritual practices as what we do in the ordinary parts of life, this conversation welcomes us to experience renewed...
info_outlineCo-Hosts: Steve Macchia and Matt Scott
“That's the hard reality...that I, too, irritate others. I need others to bear with me, also.” - Steve Macchia
How do we lovingly bear with one another and suffer alongside others in spiritual community? This episode tackles some of the hard realities we all face when we stay in one place long enough. What does it look like to move beyond tolerating and enduring to loving and serving those we find irritating, challenging, and hard-to-love? How can we humbly walk alongside one another in an empathetic, compassionate and gracious manner? This conversation offers helpful tools and wisdom around what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “The Ministry of Bearing.”
Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.